How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

I have always sustained that lawyers need to take an active part in the strategic decision process within the organisation they belong to.

Volatility, Uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA world) are now a given that must be considered by organisation leaders whatever their business activities and geographical print may be. Therefore, there is no other option for the lawyers other than to take on board this new paradigm and be prepared to adjust quickly to the unexpected.

What strategic priorities are guiding you and your team in 2024?   

My top priority for 2024/2025 is project delivery of one of the most ambitious transportation projects worldwide on time and within budget.

In order to do so, I need to align all the populations within my scope of authority (lawyers, buyers, contract managers) but also outside of my scope of authority so that everyone within owner’s organisation pursues the same objectives in a collaborative way and finds solutions when problems arise.

This is essentially about leadership so that we all share the same strategic priority at the various levels of the organisation, and all feel accountable, whatever happens.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?   

By promoting and enabling new mobilities and new visions of urban development, Société des grands projets’ core mission is all about environmental transition. A few years ago, it has decided to push even further certain technical limits and to reduce further (by one quarter) the carbon emissions resulting from the design and construction of Grand Paris Express infrastructures.

This ambitious target to reduce carbon footprint of mega projects required (and still requires) the introduction of innovative contractual mechanisms to incentivice the industry (all layers of the supply chain) to contribute. Since those technical solutions and contractual mechanisms have not yet been tested, it may happen that there is some legal uncertainty on their robustness. One might observe that this situation can be encountered every time there is a need for innovation on the legal and contractual way to handle the business.

My vision of the role of the general counsel as a leader is that they are the ones who endorse that element of uncertainty (after a thorough and documented risk and opportunity analysis) where the safer and more comfortable position would recommend not to do anything.

I feel that this is my job and responsibility.

The step further is for me to share the lessons learnt from those experiences (as well as the failure) with fellows around the world in similar positions so that those lessons and experiences may benefit a wider community.